The Monster Employment Index UK decreased by three points in July to reach a level of 174, following a similar drop in June. This partly reflects a seasonal decrease in online recruitment activity during the early summer months, but also suggests loosening conditions in the jobs market.

Hiring in the legal sector fell most, while there was a significant upturn in demand for healthcare and social workers.

The Monster Employment Index UK is a monthly analysis of millions of online job opportunities culled from a large, representative selection of corporate career sites and job boards across the UK, including Monster.co.uk.

* Index decreased by three points in July, following a four point drop in June, but the year-on-year growth rate was largely unchanged at 5%

* The legal sector saw the steepest decline, but offerings also dropped significantly in the environment, architecture and urbanism sector

* Demand rose sharply in hospitality and tourism while opportunities in healthcare and social work soared in July for the third successive month

* Among occupational groups, opportunities for craft and related workers; and skilled agricultural and fishery workers declined most in July

* Regionally, online hiring declined furthest in the South West. Northern Ireland surged, however, showing the highest monthly and annual growth rate in demand